Bobbin handling arrangement



Jan. 7, 1964 R. M. INGHAM, JR 3,116,586

BOBBIN HANDLING ARRANGEMENT Filed Aug. 22, 1960 2 Sheets-Sheet lINVENTOR. ROBERT M.|NGHAM,JR.

Jan. 7, 1964 R. M. INGHAM, JR 3,

BOBBIN HANDLING ARRANGEMENT Filed Aug. 22, 1960 2 Sheets-Shes: 2

INVENTOR. ROBERT M. INGHAM,JR

United States Patent 3,116,586 BOBBIN HANDLING ARRANGEMENT Robert M.Ingham, Jr., Spartanburg, S.C., assignor to Deerlng Mllllken ResearchCorporation, Spartanburg, S.C., a corporation of Delaware Filed Aug. 22,1960, Ser. No. 50,920 11 Claims. (CI. 57-52) This invention relates tothe handling of bobbins and yarn packages, and more particularly to animproved apparatus for dofling yarn packages from and donning emptybobbins onto textile processing apparatus such as spinning frames andthe like.

It has previously been proposed to doff and don textile processingframes including spinning frames by doffing and donning a plurality ofspindle positions at one time. Dotfing and donning apparatus foraccomplishing this purpose rnay be conveniently referred to as multipleposition dolfers. In the art of multiple position doffers, it isdesirable to be able to move the dolfer over gross distances to alocation in which the package doffing portion of the assembly is alignedwith the spindles to be doffed, and to thereafter move the assembly forshort distances, such as to selectively align empty bobbin holders andbobbins or yarn package holders with the spindles of the frame beingdoffed. In at least one multiple position doifer arrangement, such asdisclosed in my copending application Serial Number 42,579, it isdesirable to be able to move two dotf and don assemblies for two sidesof a spinning frame or the like in opposite directions in order toprovide for sequential dofiing and donning of the frame. It is alsodesirable to perform both of these sequential operations simultaneouslyfor the two sides of a given frame. The present invention is directed toan apparatus for effecting this end in a simple and expeditious manner,while requiring a minimum of skill on the part of the operator inpositioning the apparatus.

The invention is particularly applicable as applied to a multipleposition dofiing apparatus which does not require the movement of theseparator panels in order to effect dofling and donning of the yarnpackages and empty bobbins respectively from and onto the takeupspindles.

Still other features and attendant advantages will become apparent toone skilled in the art from a reading of the following detaileddescription of one physical embodiment constructed according to theinvention, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings whereinFIGURE 1 is an over-all schematic illustration of a portion of aspinning room having the present invention incorporated therein.

FIGURE 2 is a more detailed schematic illustration of the transverselymovable carriage and bobbin holder carriers of FIGURE 1, a portion ofthis apparatus being cut away and exploded in order to more clearlyillustrate the construction and operation of the apparatus.

Referring now to the figures of the drawing, the invention isillustrated as installed in a textile spinning room having a pluralityof spinning frames 11 which are longitudinally arranged in parallelside-by-side rows. The takeup spindles which are to be dotfed by theapparatus of the present invention are schematically indicated at 13. Itwill, of course, be appreciated that only a portion of the spinningframes of a conventional spinning room is illustrated in this figure, asufficient number being shown to indicate merely the applicability andoperation of the present invention with respect to a grouping ofspinning frames arranged in one conventional manner of orientation andalignment thereof, particularly in the United States. Each of thespinning frames may have a pair of guide posts 15 disposed at oppositeends of the spinning frames for the purpose of guiding two dofling anddonning assemblies 17 into proper position for doffing yarn packages anddonning empty bobbins from and onto the spindles 13 of the spinningframes 11, as Will be more particularly apparent hereinafter. Since theconstruction of these guideposts 15 does not :per se form a part of thisinvention such are only schematically illustrated herein.

Supported above a plurality of parallel rows of the spinning frames 11as by rnain support rods 23 suspended from the ceiling (not shown), aretwo longitudinally disposed parallel rails in the form of I-beams 25which are aligned in parallel relation with the rows of spinning frames11. These parallel rails 25 may preferably extend along the length ofthe spinning room from one end of the rows of spinning frames to theopposite end of these rows. These parallel rails serve as guides andsupports for a longitudinally movable main carriage 27, which carries atransversely movable carriage 29 supported thereon for transversemovement from row to row of the spinning frames 11.

In the illustrated embodiment the longitudinally movable main carriage27 includes a pair of spaced apart cross rails 31 in the form ofU-channel beams, with a pair of separating and bracing beams 33 securedat opposite ends of the cross rails. The bracing and separating beams 33are in turn suitably secured to yokes 35 which carry upport wheels 3'7riding in opposite channels of the 1- beam rails 25. One of the crossrails 31 carries a longitudinal traverse drive motor 39 mechanicallyconnected as through a drive shaft connection 41 to a pair of mainlongitudinal drive wheels 43 which engage the bottom of the mainparallel rails 25 for effecting longitudinal movement of the maincarriage 27 along the length of the spinning room and the rows ofspinning frames 11. These longitudinal drive Wheels 43 may be formed inany suitable manner, as with a rubber surface, in order to provideeffective traction with the support rails 25.

The transversely movable carriage 29 is parallel to' the rows ofspinning frames 11 and extends between the pair of cross rails 31 of thelongitudinally movable main carriage 27. This transversely movablecarriage 29 has two pairs of support wheels 45, 45a engageable in thechannel of the cross rails 31 for guiding and tractive engagementtherewith. A transverse traverse drive motor '47 is carried by thetransversely movable carriage and is suitably connected by a driveconnection generally indicated at 49 to one of the wheels 45a at eachend of the carriage. These drive wheels 454: may take any suitable formin order to effect the desired traction for transverse movement of thecarriage along the cross rails. For instance, these drive wheels 45a maybe rubber covered, or may be drive pinions engaging with a rack carriedby the cross rails. It will thus be seen that the movement of thelongitudinally movable main carriage 27 and the transversely movablecarriage 29 may be employed to position the transversely movablecarriage over any desired spinning frame for doffing and donning yarnpackages B and empty bobbins l3 therefrom and thereonto.

The transversely movable carriage carries two bobbin dofiing and donningassemblies 17 which are adapted for lateral movement toward and awayfrom the longitudinal center line of the carriage 29 and for verticalraising and lowering movement. In the illustrated example, the bobbindoffing and donning assemblies 17 each take the form of two individuallyseparable and movable bobbin holder carriers 51, 53, one of the carriers51 having empty bobbin holders 51a carried thereby and the other carrier53 having yarn package holders 53a carried thereby. The empty bobbinholders 51a of each carrier 51 correspond in number to the number ofspindles 13 to be doffed on one side of the textile processing frame,e.g. spinning frame 11. The yarn package holders 53:; are of acorresponding numher and are in laterally side-by-side transversealignment with the empty holders 51a. The empty bobbin holder carrier 51may take the form of a U-channel beam 51b having a plurality of emptybobbin holders of the end grasping type depending therefrom and operableto release the empty bobbins B from a frictional grasp thereby asthrough the medium of air pressure, as disclosed in my copendingapplications, Serial Number 703,353, now US. Patent No. 3,059,406 andSer. No. 42,579. The yarn package holder carrier 53 may take the form ofa channel beam 53!) selectively nesting in removable relation within theinverted channel beam 51b of the empty bobbin holder carrier 51, thisyarn package holder carrier 53 having a plurality of suitable yarnpackage holders 53a, such as the package periphery grasping typedisclosed in my copending applications, Serial Numbers 703,353 and42,579, for doffing and transporting yarn packages. Each of the twoempty bobbin holder carriers 51 may suitably be provided with end guidechannels 510 for engagement with the pair of corresponding guide postsdisposed at the opposite ends of the spinning frames 11 for guiding ofthe empty bobbin holders 51a. onto their respective takeup spindles 13.Correspondingly, each of the two yarn package holder carriers 53 mayalso have secured at its opposite ends guide channels 53c for similarlyengaging the guide posts 15 on the spinning frames 11 in order to guidethe yarn package holders 53a down onto and about the takeup spindles 13and the yarn packages B disposed thereon at the completion of winding ofsuch packages by the spinning frames 11. It will thus be apparent thatthe transversely movable carriage 29 with its two bobbin dofiing anddonning assemblies 17 may be employed for doffing and donning an entiretextile spinning frame at one time and may subsequently be moved toanother textile spinning frame for dofiing and donning thereof.

Both of the empty bobbin holder carriers 51 of the two dofiing anddonning assemblies 17 are adapted to be selectively simultaneouslyraised or lowered through the medium of a drive motor 61, speedreduction gear train 63, including a worm and worm gear, and capstan 65which is interconnected to the empty bobbin holder carriers 51 throughthe medium of a plurality of support cables 67. The yarn package holdercarriers 53 are similarly adapted to be simultaneously raised andlowered, as through the medium of a drive motor 71, gear train 73, andcable capstan 75 connected in supporting relation to the carriers 53through the medium of support cables 77 extending through apertures 51dformed in the beam 511; of the empty bobbin holder carrier 51. The emptybobbin holder carriers 51 of both dotf and don assemblies 17 areoperated simultaneously in the raising and lowering operations by thesame motor and capstan arrangement, and the interconnecting supportcables are shown in FIGURE 2 for both of these carriers. The same istrue for the yarn package holder carriers 53 of both dotf and donassemblies 17. However, in order to simplify the drawing FIGURE 2 isonly illustrated with one of the doffing and donning assemblies '17shown. It will be readily apparent, however, that the opposite doflingand donning assembly with its yarn package holder carriers and emptybobbin holder carriers will be similarly and correspondingly operated bythe corresponding support cables 67, 77 therefor illustrated in FIGURE 2and with simultaneous corresponding movements imparted thereto in thesame manner as above and subsequently described.

Each doffing and donning assembly is adapted to doff and don the yarnpackages B and empty bobbins B from and onto the spindles 13 of oneentire side of a spinning frame 11. Upon the positioning of thetransversely movable carriage over the center line of the spinning frameto be doifed the yarn package holder carrier 53 of each of theassemblies 17 is positioned to have the yarn package holders 53a insubstantially vertical alignment with the corresponding spindles of thecorresponding side of the spinning frame. For subsequent donning of theempty bobbins B onto the spindles of the spinning frame the empty bobbinholders 51a and their supporting empty bobbin holder carriers 51 aremoved laterally away from the center line of the transversely movablecarriage 29 in order to align these empty bobbin holders 51w with theircorresponding spindles 13 onto which the empty bobbins B are to bedonned.

To this end, the support cables 67, 77 for both the yarn package holdercarrier 53 and the empty bobbin holder carrier 51 of each of the twodotfing and donning assemblies are passed over and about a plurality ofguide pulleys 69, 79 carried by the transversely movable carriage, andincluding particularly guide pulleys 69a, 79a mounted on transverselymovable sub-carriages 81. Each of these sub-carriages 81 is transverselymovable in a direction parallel to the cross-rails 31 as by the mountingthereof on rollers 33 engageable in subcarriage guides in the form ofsupport rails 85 suitably secured to and carried by the sidewalls of thebeam 29m forming the main body of the transversely movable carriage 29.It will be apparent that the subcarriages 81 are biased laterallyinwardly toward the longitudinal center line of the transversely movablecarriage 29 as a result of the horizontal component of force exertedthereon by the support cables 67, 77 and the weight of the empty bobbinholder carriers 51 and yarn package holder carriers 53. In order toprovide for lateral outward movement of these sub-carriages 81 there ismounted on the carriage 29 a hydraulic or pneumatic ram 91, the piston91a of which is connected to control cables 93 for each of thesub-carriages 81. The control cables pass from the ram piston 9111 aboutguide pulleys 95 suitably mounted on the carriage beam 29:: and thencepass about other outboard mounted guide pulleys 97 carried as bybrackets 99 on one or more of the support rails 85. Upon retractivemovement of the hydraulic or pneumatic ram piston 91a it will be seenthat the control cables 93 will effect laterally outward movement ofeach of the transversely movable subcarriages 81. Suitable stops may beprovided, as on the sub-carriage guide and support rails 85 forestablishing the inner and outer stop positions of the sub-carriages 81and thus the corresponding inner and outer lateral positions of the yarnpackage holder carrier 53 and empty bobbin holder carrier 51. However,it has been found that the ram 91 itself may in conjunction with thepiston 9 1a thereof serve to establish these two limits by making thefull extent of movement of the piston correspond to the distance betweentwo positions of the sub-carriages 81 in order to effect the desiredmovement of the sub-carriages 81 to position selectively the yarnpackage holders 53a or the empty bobbin holders 51a directly over thespindles 13 of each of the two opposite sides of the spinning frames 11without requiring further movement of the overall transversely movablecarriage 29. The hydraulic or pneumatic ram 91 may be suitably actuatedas through the medium of a control valve V disposed between the ram anda suitable source of pneumatic or hydraulic pressure P as the case maybe. While a ram type motive arrangement has been illustrated for thepurpose of effecting movement of the sub-carriages 81 it will beapparent that other motive means might be utilized, such as for instanceelectrical motors.

Briefly, the operation of the apparatus is as follows: Thelongitudinally movable main carriage 27 and the transversely movablecarriage 29 carried thereby are moved through the medium of theircorresponding drive motors 39, 47 and drive wheels 43, 45a to a positionWhere the longitudinal center line of the transversely movable carriage29 is disposed in vertical alignment with the longitudinal center lineof the spinning frame 11 to be doffed. The transversely movablesub-carriages 81 for each of the dofiing and donning assemblies 17 arepositioned at their innermost extent of travel, which is the positionwherein both yarn package holder carriers 53 are disposed with theiryarn package holders 53a above the spindles 13 of the spinning frame.Both of the drive motors 61, 71 are actuated to lower the doffing anddonning assemblies 17, including both the yarn package hold er carriers53 and empty bobbin holder carriers 51 a part of the way down toward thespindles 13. However, due to interference between the drafting rolls andother parts of the spinning frame the inboard carriers (i.e. emptybobbin holder carriers 51) cannot normally be lowered all the way downside by side with the outboard or yarn package holder carriers 53 forthe dofling operation. Accordingly, after lowering the two doffing anddonning assemblies 17 part way down over the spinning frame 11 the drivemotor 61 for the empty bobbin holder carriers 51 will be stopped and thedrive motor 71 for the yarn package holder carriers 53 will remainenergized to thereby continue to lower the yarn package holder carriers53 and its yarn package holders 53a down onto and about the yarnpackages B which are disposed on the spindles 13 of the spinning frame11. The drive motor 71 for the yarn package holder carriers 53 will thenbe reversed after grasping of the yarn packages B by the yarn packageholders 5341 and will raise the yarn package holder carriers 53 up to aposition where the lower end of the bobbins of the yarn packages E willclear the top of the spindles 13 from which they have been doifed. Theram 91 is then actuated to retract the piston 91a and thereby eifectoutward transverse movement of the sub-carriages 81 and thecorresponding two doffing and donning assemblies 17, including both ofthe empty bobbin holder carriers 51 and yarn package holder carriers 53,to thereby position the empty bobbin holders 51a of the two empty bobbinholder carriers 51 over the corresponding empty spindles 13 of thespinning frame 11. Thereupon, both drive motors 61, 71 are energized tolower both the empty bobbin holder carriers 51 and yarn package holdercarriers 53 to a position wherein the empty bobbins B are donned ontothe respective empty spindles 13. The empty bobbins B are seated on thespindles 13 and the two doffing and donning assemblies 17 aresimultaneously raised by the reversal of the drive motors 61, 71 andtheir cable takeup capstans 65, 75. The dotting and donning assemblies17 are preferably raised to their topmost position adjacent the carriagebeam 29a in order to conserve overhead sapce in the spinning room duringmovement of the carriage arrangement 27, 29 along the room. The entirelongitudinally movable carriage and transversely movable carriagearrangement 27, 29 is thereupon moved to a suitable loading andunloading station (not shown) at which the yarn packages B are releasedfrom the yarn package holders 53a and a new supply of empty bobbins B isloaded into the empty bobbin holders 51a for subsequent dofling anddonning of another spinning frame 11. This completes the cycle, and theentire operation described above may then be carried out again onanother spinning frame disposed anywhere along the length of the roomand within the area or" movement of the longitudinally movable carriage27 and transversely movable carriage 29 carried thereby.

While the invention has been described with respect to one specificphysical embodiment it will be readily apparent to those skilled in theart that many modifications and improvements may be made withoutdeparting from the scope and spirit of the invention. Accordingly, it isto be understood that the invention is not to be limited by thisparticular illustrative embodiment, but only by the scope of theappended claims.

That which is claimed is 1. In combination a textile processing roomhaving a plurality of longitudinal textile frames each having at leastone row of bobbin-holding spindles thereon and arranged in longitudinalend-to-end alignment and sideby-side relation to form a plurality ofparallel rows of frames, a pair of support beams disposed above saidframes and with at least one of said rows therebetween and thereunder, acarriage carried by said support beams and movable horizontally in adirection parallel thereto, motive means carried by said carriage formoving said carriage along said support beams, a bobbin dofling anddonning device having a plurality of bobbin holders carried thereby,said bobbin holders being disposed in side-byside relationship to oneanother and in substantially parallel relationship to said rows oftextile frames and said rows of bobbin-holding spindles thereon, motivemeans for moving said dofiing and donning device on and relative to saidcarriage, said doffing and donning device having a set of empty bobbinholders and a corresponding set of yarn package holders carried thereby,said sets being disposed in laterally side-by-side relationship, andmeans for selectively moving either of said sets of holders of each saidunit horizontally into registry with the corresponding spindles on aselected said textile frame. 2. Doffer apparatus for textile processingapparatus having vertically extending bobbin-holding spindles thereon,comprising a bobbin holder carrier having bobbin holders carriedthereby, a support carriage for said carrier and movable in a horizontaldirection, sub-carriage means carried by said support carriage andmovable relative to said support carriage in a direction having ahorizontal component, connecting means between said subcarriage meansand said bobbin holder carrier and suspending said bobbin holder carrierin depending relation beneath said sub-carriage means, means for movingsaid sub-carriage means relative to said support carriage in a directionhaving a horizontal component, and motive means for raising and loweringsaid bobbin holder carrier, a main carriage, at least one horizontalsupport rail forming a part of and being movable with said maincarriage, said support carriage being carried by and movable along saidsupport rail, and a second set of stationary main support rails for saidmain carriage, said movable support rail for said support carriage beingdisposed transverse to said stationary main support rails for said maincarriage.

3. Dofier apparatus for textile processing apparatus having verticallyextending bobbin-holding spindles thereon, comprising two bobbin holdercarriers each having bobbin holders carried thereby, a support carriagefor said carriers and movable in a horizontal direction, sub-carriagemeans carried by said support carriage and movable relative to saidsupport carriage in a direction having a horizontal component,connecting means between said sub-carriage means and said bobbin holdercarriers and suspending said bobbin holder carriers in dependingrelation beneath said sub-carriage means, means for moving saidsub-carriage means relative to said support carriage in a directionhaving a horizontal component, and motive means for raising and loweringsaid bobbin holder carriers, said last-named means carried by saidsupport carriage selectively operable for raising and lowering each ofsaid bobbin holder carriers independently of one another or jointly.

4. Doffer apparatus for textile processing apparatus having verticallyextending bobbin-holding spindles thereon, comprising a support carriagemovable in a horizontal direction, first and second bobbin holdercarriers having bobbin holders carried thereby, said bobbin holdercarriers being disposed on and carried from opposite sides of saidsupport carriage, first and second sub-carriage means disposed on andmovable relative to said support carriage in opposite horizontaldirections, connecting means between said first bobbin holder carrierand first sub-carriage means, and connecting means between said secondbobbin holder carrier and second sub-carriage means, said connectingmeans suspending each of said bobbin holder carriers in dependingrelation beneath a respective one of said sub-carriage means.

5. Dolfer apparatus according to claim 4 further comprising motive meansdisposed on said support carriage for simultaneously moving said firstand second subcarriage means in opposite horizontal directionsselectively toward or away from one another, and motive means forraising and lowering said bobbin holder carriers.

6. Doffer apparatus according to claim 5 further comprising third andfourth bobbin-holder carriers, connecting means between said thirdbobbin-holding carrier and said first sub-carriage means, connectingmeans between said fourth bobbin-holding carrier and said secondsub-carriage means, and additional means for selectively raising andlowering said third and fourth bobbin holder carriers separately fromsaid first and second bobbin holder carriers.

7. Dotfer apparatus according to claim 5 further comprising a furthermain carriage movable in a horizontal direction, said support carriagebeing carried by and movable on said main carriage in a horizontaldirection transverse to the direction of horizontal movement of saidmain carriage, and said sub-carriage means being movable in directionssubstantially parallel to the direction of horizontal movement of saidsupport carriage therefor on said main carriage.

8. Dofier apparatus according to claim 7 further comprising two spacedapart parallel fixed support rails, said main carriage being carried byand horizontally movable along said rails, said main carriage includinga pair of spaced apart secondary support rails extending in asubstantially horizontal direction substantially perpendicular to thelongitudinal direction of said fixed support rails, said supportcarriage for said bobbin holder carriers being carried by and movablealong said secondary support rails, the horizontal direction of movementof said sub-carriage means being parallel to said secondary supportrails.

9. DoiTer apparatus according to claim 8 further comprising railscarried by said support carriage, said subcarriage means being mountedfor horizontal translatory movement on said last named rails.

10. The apparatus according to claim 8 in combination with a pluralityof parallel rows of textile processing machines each having two sets ofvertically extending bobbinholding spindles thereon and on oppositesides thereof, said rows of textile processing machines being parallelto said fixed support rails and normal to the direction of horizontalmovement of said sub-carriage means.

1]. The structure of claim 3 wherein said connecting means comprisesseparate means between each of said bobbin holder carriers and saidsubcarriage means for jointly effecting horizontal movement of both ofsaid bobbin holder carriers upon horizontal movement of said subcarriagemeans.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS866,247 Ward Sept. 17, 1907 1,171,686 Zaitz Feb. 15, 1916 1,430,009Harry et a1 Sept. 22, 1922 1,810,754 Buddecke June 16, 1931 2,061,044Ringe Nov. 17, 1936 2,564,280 Rigg Aug. 14, 1951

1. IN COMBINATION A TEXTILE PROCESSING ROOM HAVING A PLUARALITY OFLONGITUDINAL TEXTILE FRAMES EACH HAVING AT LEAST ONE ROW OFBOBBIN-HOLDING SPINDLES THEREON AND ARRANGED IN LONGITUDINAL END-TO-ENDALIGNMENT AND SIDEBY-SIDE RELATION TO FORM A PLURALITY OF PARALLEL ROWSOF FRAMES, A PAIR OF SUPPORT BEAMS DISPOSED ABOVE SAID FRAMES AND WITHAT LEAST ONE OF SAID ROWS THEREBETWEEN AND THEREUNDER, A CARRIAGECARRIED BY SAID SUPPORT BEAMS AND MOVABLE HORIZONTALLY IN A DIRECTIONPARALLEL THERETO, MOTIVE MEANS CARRIED BY SAID CARRIAGE FOR MOVING SAIDCARRIAGE ALONG SAID SUPPORT BEAMS, A BOBBIN DOFFING AND DONNING DEVICEHAVING A PLUARALITY OF BOBBIN HOLDERS CARRIED THEREBY, SAID BOBBINHOLDERS BEING DISPOSED IN SIDE-BYSIDE RELATIONSHIP TO ONE ANOTHER AND INSUBSTANTIALLY PARALLEL RELATIONSHIP TO SAID ROWS TO TEXTILE FRAMES ANDSAID ROWS OF BOBBIN-HOLDING SPINDLES THEREON, MOTIVE MEANS FOR MOVINGSAID DOFFING AND DONNING DEVICE ON AND RELATIVE TO SAID CARRIAGE, SAIDDOFFING AND DONNING DEVICE HAVING A SET OF EMPTY BOBBIN HOLDERS AND ACORRESPONDING SET OF YARN PACKAGE HOLDERS CARRIED THEREBY, SAID SETSBEING DISPOSED IN LATERALLY SIDE-BY-SIDE RELATIONSHIP, AND MEANS